


Memories

by PrinceSnoozy



Series: Gladio Rarepair Week 2019 [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: And some headcanons about the Glaives, Character Study, Dream Shenanigans, F/M, Fluff, Gladio Rarepair Week, Soulmate AU, with a side of light angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 12:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrinceSnoozy/pseuds/PrinceSnoozy
Summary: Everyone has a soulmate, and everyone experiences the memories of their soulmate in their dreams.It's just figuring out whose memories they are that's the hard part.For Day 4 of Gladio Rarepair Week 2019, for the prompt "Soulmate AU."





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

  * For [clownfishae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/clownfishae/gifts).



> For anyone who's read my fic Touch, this and other fics in this week series will take place in kind of an AU setting of that story. I'm doing it that way to practice writing Gladio and one of the new Glaives in a similar universe without giving away spoilers for it.
> 
> For those who haven't read it (which is probably most of you), [here are Naomi and Aquila](https://prince-snoozy-ao3-dump.tumblr.com/post/182730205095/throwing-this-here-for-ao3-purposes-carry-on). Just putting that out there so I didn't have to go on a long-winded description.
> 
> Big shoutout again to clownfishae for letting me borrow her OC (Naomi) for my fics \o/

The dreams had happened for years, as long as Gladio could remember. An unfamiliar place, unfamiliar people, but always the same place and the same people, to the point that he felt like he knew them, even if he'd never met them.  
  
It wasn't like it was weird; everyone had the dreams, notable memories lived through their soulmate's eyes on most nights. Everyone's dreams were different in focus, as every person's soulmate had different priorities and found different things notable. Some would dream of accomplishments, of success, while others were plagued with nightmares of trauma, an unfortunate side-effect of living during a time of war. And, other times, the two extremes could coexist.  
  
Gladio's dreams focused on interpersonal relationships, it seemed; his soulmate cherished the memories of their friends and their family, so many mundane things that had an air of something special to them, as if their entire world could exist as just these few special people. It was admirable, and he felt almost jealous upon waking up some days, as he figured their dreams of his own life were boring and not as uplifting in comparison, with his duties and his constant routine getting in the way of anything like that. He had no way of knowing what they focused on, either, not without asking his soulmate, and it was as if they lived in an entirely different country, far away from the walls of Insomnia.  
  
So he cherished his nights, when he could live in this person's shoes for awhile, enjoying moments with people he didn't know and wouldn't recognize, not knowing whose eyes he looked through, nor where he was. To live through someone else's experiences, someone with such a big heart, it calmed him from his long days of stress and duty, so that he could do his job properly and with pride.  
  
So it didn't matter that he didn't know anything about them or where they were. Even if they'd never meet, he could go on just like this for the rest of his life.  
  
Until that one night, when he was 19.  
  
It had started out as normal, a rosy and bright montage of faces, the same ones as usual, all with various smiles and laughter. This dream mostly took place at what seemed to be a bar, but any details were fuzzy, as it was with their memories where the focus was on the cherished moments and loved ones rather than minute details, especially those familiar places where you wouldn't look twice at a bottle that had been on the same shelf for months or more.  
  
But it all changed in an instant.  
  
There was no transition; he was staring into a young woman's face, not much older than himself, and then he wasn't in the bar anymore. Fire exploded around him, bullets whizzed past, and he was running, slipping and sliding on mud as he took corners. He didn't know where he was going, but the urgency and desperation burned him nonetheless.  
  
A moment later, and he was on his knees, feeling as if he was going to cry, or was already crying. A shadow fell over him and he looked up, seeing a man towering over him, dressed in military regalia; Gladio didn't recognize him. His mouth was moving, but Gladio couldn't hear what he said, as was usual, but he felt the fear, the hopelessness, and the indescribable pit in his stomach nonetheless. It was as if his entire world had crumbled around him, ties severed and thrown to the side like a shattered shield.  
  
And then he woke up, sitting straight up in his bed, sweating, his heart racing in his chest.  
  
Did he just watch his soulmate die?  
  
No, that's not how it worked; people were supposed to feel those last moments, all the way through to the end of their soulmate's consciousness, and he should've felt empty afterwards. Instead, he just felt scared, the fear from his soulmate seeping into him, a cold fear like he'd never felt before, where he could hear the blood pumping through his head.  
  
He swung his legs out of the covers to the floor and made his way straight to his shower, hoping to wash that feeling away. He turned on his radio as he stripped in the bathroom, a news report giving him pause before he turned on the shower.  
  
" _Dozens of refugees flooded into Insomnia from the Imperial-occupied territory of Galahd today after the Imperial forces successfully quashed a small resistance in the capitol, leaving thousands dead..."_

* * *

 Two years passed, and the dreams hadn't stopped. At least that proved his soulmate wasn't dead.

  
The content had changed, however, with the myriad of familiar faces replaced with three fairly newer ones, with a brand new face added shortly after. The scenery had also changed: what had once been a small town outside the wall somewhere changed to skyscrapers and city streets he knew very well, and not from dreams, but from his own life.  
  
 His soulmate was in Insomnia now.  
  
That was when he started paying more and more attention to the few details he could see in their memories; he had a chance to find them now, and figuring out just where in the city they were and just _who_  they were consumed all his free time. It didn't take long to figure out they were a refugee, and one that got recruited into the Kingsglaive no less; such events were more than notable, and much clearer than in many of the earlier dreams. This was a significant life change, and one he couldn't ignore.  
  
And that's why he started his weekly training sessions with groups of the Glaives, but he never specified to Cor or Drautos the real reason he wanted to train with them. He settled on some excuse about testing their fortitude and making sure he could take on more than one magic-wielder at once, disguising it as a kind of rite of passage for the newer Glaives to take on the Shield of the Crown Prince. In consequence, he went through group after group, sometimes the same group multiple times in a row, but he still couldn't figure out exactly who his soulmate was, because he never dreamed of his trial.  
  
And he didn't want to admit it, but it was driving him _crazy_.  
  
Today was another one of those scheduled sessions, and it went much like the others for awhile, with a team of five Glaives who Cor said had been recruited four years prior, from a group of Galahd refugees; they wouldn't be the first.  
  
He knew how Nyx and Libertus moved already, tag-teaming Libertus's support with Nyx's high-speed warp strikes, learned from previous attempts they'd made at kicking his ass (and usually winning). The other three, though, he'd never met before, at least not in person, and there was something distinctly familiar that he couldn't focus on during the test.  
  
One of these new faces, someone named Crowe, kept firing obnoxiously-large fire attacks at him, not needing to recharge quite as often as he thought she should. One of those attacks almost knocked him off-balance, striking his shield much sooner than he anticipated. He stumbled backward slightly, but stayed on his feet, using his sword to regain his balance and center himself.  
  
He had to admit that she could probably take him on by herself if she _really_ tried since her energy levels never dropped once, like she was afraid of actually hurting him.  
  
Holy shit.  
  
It wasn't just her, either, there were two _other_ unfamiliar Glaives, both women, both right around the same age from the looks of it, and they couldn't be more different: a small quick-on-her-feet air walker named Aquila, who he vaguely recognized as a noble from Tenebrae, and a taller defensive tank named Naomi with a barrier ability that covered a much larger area than it should have, and _oh shit_  she can throw hammers like they're nothing, which he realized just as one flew straight at his head.  
  
He rolled to the side just barely in time to dodge the hammer throw, but _not_  to dodge Naomi's warp strike, which, while he managed to block it with his shield, the impact knocked him off his feet. He hadn't so much as recoiled from the harsh landing on his back in the dirt before the blade of a shuriken stopped just short of his throat, and he looked up to see that Aquila had locked eyes with him; she very easily could've just killed him. He glanced down her tattooed forearm to see Naomi's hand wrapped around her elbow, holding it firm despite the muscles straining against her grip.  
  
"Okay, test's over," he admitted, holding up his arms. "I know when I'm beat. You guys pass, flying colors."  
  
The shuriken vanished immediately into blue shards, and Aquila hopped backward, exchanging a high five with Naomi.  
  
"Yea-ha!" she cheered, pumping her fist in the air with a small hop. "You see that shit!"  
  
Naomi just laughed, and then Crowe piled them both into a group hug as she ran up, the three of them celebrating while hanging on each other's shoulders. Nyx and Libertus congratulated each other behind them, though it was much more subdued; they'd been through this before, and it was evident they didn't even need to be here except to wear him down, or maybe serve as some kind of distraction.  
  
Cor approached him from the edge of the arena and offered his hand, which Gladio took gratefully, hoisting himself up and using the arm as leverage.  
  
"Where the hell were you hiding those three?" Gladio asked, dusting himself off. "I've never been hit so hard so fast before."  
  
"The Captain wanted to be sure their teamwork had a nice synergy to it," Cor replied, glancing back over to the group. "And he had to make sure they had enough self-control to not send you to the infirmary ward by accident. I heard Aquila and Naomi there had to do a lot of one-on-one sessions to get that timing down at the end."  
  
"They cut it a little close, didn't they?" He rubbed at his throat, where the blade at very nearly bit into his skin.  
  
"Practice dummies were losing limbs and heads, so I think you got off easy."  
  
"Feel sorry for their sparring partners, then."  
  
"That's the thing, Tidus just recently lifted their year-long ban on sparring with real people. Crowe lit a kid entirely on fire, Aquila narrowly missed slicing through someone's jugular, and Naomi nearly crushed three different people with the same rogue hammer."  
  
"So by themselves, they're dangerous, but a force to be reckoned with when they work together."  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"The Nifs better watch out."  
  
"Exactly what I said." A pause, then a subject change. "So is Noctis still skipping out on his practices?"  
  
"Don't remind me." Gladio pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tried to get Iggy to talk some sense into him, but apparently he's going through another depressive episode. No helping him till he gets out of it."  
  
"What caused it this time?"  
  
"No idea."  
  
He sighed, running his hand down his face. Cor grew quiet, so he turned his attention to the group of Glaives now gathered a few meters away. He couldn't hear anything they were saying, but it looked to be a friendly conversation, with a few gentle taps and shoves and here and there. He smiled to himself, reminded of his bond with Noct, the playful banter that was a treasured part of his relationship with his charge. It was the closest he had to the kind of bond his soulmate seemed to have with their friends, and he wished--  
  
His thoughts stopped in their tracks.  
  
He focused more on the group, zeroing in on the three girls. While he had no way of knowing his soulmate's face, he definitely saw their friends' faces, as he saw them almost nightly. He narrowed his eyes, squinting, and then Aquila laughed, the clear image of the exact same thing from one of his dreams his him full force.  
  
She was definitely one of his soulmate's friends. And that also ruled her out as his soulmate.  
  
He focused on Crowe next, and she smiled at something Libertus said; the same thing happened, the memory of that exact smile from his dreams so clear he could almost see them side-by-side.  
  
So it wasn't Crowe either.  
  
"Hey, Marshal," he spoke up, gaining a small grunt of affirmation. "Those Glaives, what do you know about their relationship?"  
  
"Not too much," came the reply. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"No reason," he lied. "They seem pretty friendly."  
  
"They all joined around the same time, about four years ago." He shifted his weight slightly, crossing his arms. "I think Nyx, Libertus, and Crowe all grew up together, or at least knew each other pretty well, and Naomi's from the same area. Aquila's the odd one out, since she grew up in privilege, but guess that didn't keep her out of the circle."  
  
"So they're close?"  
   
"I'd say so. They're always getting in trouble for putting themselves in danger for each other, especially Nyx and Naomi." He paused a moment. "You trying to figure out their teamwork secrets?"  
  
"Something like that." More lies. "Thought I might learn a thing or two for me and Noct."  
  
"Good luck with that."  
  
Cor patted his shoulder and then walked away, leaving Gladio standing alone at the edge of the training arena. Alone with the Glaives that just kicked his ass.  
  
Leaving was definitely a good idea.  
  
So he left, heading to his training session with Noct that might or might not happen today.

* * *

That night's dream was nothing special, as had been the norm as of late except for one detail. When he awoke, however, he immediately focused on a single thing: if those two Glaives were his indeed soulmate's closest friends, then his soulmate _had_  to be one of the other three.  
  
And that dream confirmed it. Passing his unofficial test must have been notable for them, because he definitely saw himself in the dream this time, in the training arena, but not much else of note that would give him a clue as to which of his three options they could be, since it was mostly just flashes of his own face, getting clearer with each image, until the memories moved onward.  
  
He sighed and got out of bed, ready to go about another routine day of his duties as well as another day of not knowing who his soulmate was, despite being so close.  
  
Maybe he just wasn't meant to know.

* * *

Another uneventful day gone, and Gladio returned to his room at the estate. He settled into bed with one of his novels. He only got through a couple of pages before the haze of sleep started coming over him.  
  
Guess he was more tired than he thought.  
  
He put the book aside on the nightstand and turned off the lamp, settling into bed to sleep.  
  
The dream came on slowly this time, intermixed with some of his own memories of walking through the Citadel, taking his usual route to the training room-- wait, no, he stopped short, like he was on guard duty in front of the training room, standing at attention.  
  
He definitely didn't do that today; this must be _their_ memories.  
  
And, for the first time, he realized this within the dream, that he wasn't the one walking around, and feeling more like he was watching a first-person film rather than experiencing someone else's memories as his own.  
  
They turned to their left, and he very clearly saw _himself_  walk toward them in the hallway, talking on the phone to someone (Iggy probably) before he reached the training room door beside them. He nodded to them and disappeared inside, and they closed their eyes slowly after seeming to sigh.  
  
He saw them today?? And they were definitely _not_ short, so he was right to rule out two of the girls since those two barely came up to his shoulder. This one, though, was tall enough to see over his shoulder and then some.   
  
He didn't get time to contemplate it in his head for long, because the dream/memories continued.  
  
They were at an arcade this time, but not playing a game; it seemed like they were looking around some obstacle, maybe one of the pillars or game stations. It was brighter in this arcade than the others in Insomnia, and he could barely recognize two out-of-focus blobs several meters away--  
  
Noct and Prompto. They were watching Noct and Prompto. But why?  
  
Well, he got his answer when he, again, saw himself walk into view, in his casual clothes this time. And he was the only one in view who was crystal clear, much like their friends would be, as if he was the prime focus of this particular memory.  
  
Oh shit.  
  
Oh SHIT.  
  
They knew who he was.  
  
They knew they were soulmates.  
  
His memories would've made it so goddamn obvious thanks to that training session and who knows what else they've seen over the years. There would've been so much Noct and King Regis and his DAD and Iris--- just how long have they known??  
  
The next memory fired up and, thankfully, they were back with the two girls again, laughing and most likely having a pleasant conversation. But it was different this time: their faces were slightly out of focus, and the background was much more clear than normal, as if they weren't paying as much attention to their friends, as if they were distracted.  
  
As if they were watching for someone to come around the corner. Someone who never came.  
  
He awoke with a start, already mentally-cataloging everything he could before he forgot half of it:  
  
They were posted at the training room during second shift.  
  
They were taller than his shoulder.  
  
They were at the arcade at the same time as him.  
  
They were hanging out with Aquila and Crowe yesterday.  
  
Great, he could work with this. Maybe.  
  
He reached for his phone on the nightstand, ready to call Iggy and make up some kind of excuse for the information he was about to ask for. He tapped in his passcode and navigated to Iggy's contact info, but then stopped.  
  
It was four in the goddamn morning.  
  
He locked his phone back with a _click_  and tossed it onto the pillow beside him, letting out a deep sigh. No way he could explain waking Iggy up for _that_. And no way he was going back to sleep.  
  
He turned the bedside lamp on and grabbed his book, flipping it open to his marked page and started reading, or tried to, reading the first paragraph, forgetting what it said, and reading it again, and again, and again, until it stopped making sense entirely. He shook his head and tried once more, compartmentalizing this situation into a safe place in his mind so he could focus on the moment and deal with it later, or never, whichever seemed most likely.  
  
However, the fact that their memories had focused entirely on him never left the back of his mind.

* * *

So, getting the information from Iggy was a bust. Turns out he wasn't exactly privy to knowledge about the Glaives without a good reason (like figuring out who he'd been dreaming about wasn't a good reason??), so he'd have to find out another way. Drautos and Cor were out, since the conversation that would follow was one he could do without.  
  
The two girls, though, he could start there.  
  
It took some time, as he had to question several Glaives located around the Citadel, but he found out about someone who _should_  know where the two had been stationed for the day. He headed for their post, winding through the hallways until he came upon the entrance to the throne room and saw none other than one of the Glaives he'd just tested the other day.  
  
Naomi.  
  
"Uh, hey," he said, trying to keep his tone both casual and professional the same time, somehow. "Cor wanted me to find someone named Crowe, you know where she is?"  
  
Naomi stared up at him for a few moments, her face stoic, but eyes almost brighter than he'd remembered. She bit her lip and nodded, pointing back the way he came.  
  
"She's supposed to be guarding the private library today," she said, her voice somewhat quiet and rushed.  
  
"Supposed to be?" he asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"If she's not, then you don't want to find her, trust me."  
  
That's... a weird way to give out someone's location.  
  
"If you say so."  
  
He cocked an eyebrow and she looked away, resuming a very stiff and too-proper guard's stance, almost like she was a fresh recruit, and he knew better. He chuckled a bit and she turned her head down, as if hiding her face.  
  
"Was there something else?" he asked, leaning forward a bit to try to see her face.  
  
She looked up at him again, eyes a bit wide, and opened her mouth as if to say something. She said nothing, however, and just shook her head, going back into her proper posture, eyes forward, hands behind her back.  
  
"Okay then, thanks for the info."  
  
He gave her a quick wave and turned around, walking back the way he came, toward the elevator that would take him to the proper floor. Said elevator was empty, so he stood at the back, arms crossed, tapping his boot impatiently. The elevator dinged on his floor, and he almost ran his shoulders into the opening doors when he rushed to leave, having to take half a step back as they opened.  
  
He winded through the corridors until he reached the inconspicuous library entrance, hidden away in one of the back hallways, and it dawned on him at that exact second that it was really weird that they would put such a powerful mage on guard duty in such a low-risk location.  
  
Maybe it was a punishment.  
  
In any case, there definitely wasn't a mage or anyone here guarding anything, as the hall was empty except for himself. He looked up and down the hallway, leaning back on his heels. Maybe a shift change? Maybe the Glaives weren't supposed to give out that kind of information and he just got lucky before with the others?  
  
Or maybe Naomi was just sending him on a wild goose chase for whatever reason.  
  
He sighed and turned away from the door, heading back toward the elevator for his walk of shame back to that Glaive, ready to accept he was tricked and _maybe_  use it as a way to joke around and flirt; she was very much his type, after all. And he could've sworn she was blushing when he was talking to her, so that was a bonus. Maybe he could get a date out of it after all.  
  
A soft noise stopped him in his tracks and his head whipped around to the left. A door, left just barely ajar, faced him, and he heard more noises from within, mostly small whispers and... okay, someone was definitely making out in there.  
  
Not really his job, but no harm in seeing someone mortified at getting caught trying to get lucky in such a remote location of the Citadel.  
  
He pushed open the door as if he was going in there for any other purpose than busting two covert lovers, seeing a few tables stored this unused office and turned to his right, then stopped dead, and immediately busted out into laughter. Right in front of him was Crowe, caged against the wall by Aquila, and, instead of looking horrified, they looked almost _annoyed_.  
  
"Hey, you heard of knocking?" Crowe asked, pushing Aquila back by her face.  
  
"Didn't think I needed to knock," he replied with another laugh, pointing behind him. "Door was open."  
  
"I thought you closed it," Aquila said, looking at Crowe.  
  
"I thought you did," Crowe replied, returning the gaze.  
  
"Well, no going back now."  
  
Aquila stepped away from Crowe and smoothed out her bangs, while Crowe fixed the hem of her jacket and started buttoning it back up.  
  
"We'll just be going back to our posts now," Aquila said, making a move to walk past him.  
  
He kicked the door closed and threw his arm out in front of her. She stopped short, glaring up at him.  
  
"I had a couple of questions first," he said, staring hard into her face.  
  
"I might not have any answers." She stood firm. "What bout you, Crowe?"  
  
"Nope," Crowe said, shaking her head.  
  
"At least let me ask them, first," he sighed, pinching the root of his nose, already regretting this.  
  
"Nah," Aquila said, moving to duck under his arm; he blocked her again.  
  
"You want me to tell Captain Drautos what you've been doing on duty?" he asked.  
  
"Like I'm scared of him?" she scoffed back, averting her face away from him.  
  
"Aquila," Crowe said, walking up and touching her shoulder. "He threatened to send you back to Tenebrae, remember?"  
  
"He can try," she retorted, turning back on Gladio. "Listen, Sir Giant, I don't appreciate getting extorted for information." She stabbed a finger at his chest. "And I _really_  don't appreciate my girlfriend getting extorted for information."  
  
"Hey, easy," Gladio replied, putting up his hands. "I'm not looking for anything classified, just wanted to know who was stationed by the training room yesterday. And a few other things."  
  
The two girls looked at each other, exchanging a wordless conversation that he didn't even try to decipher (mainly because he don't _want_  to) and they both shrugged at the same time. Crowe hopped up on one of the tables and Aquila followed suit, slinging her arm over Crowe's shoulders.  
  
"So, the training room," Crowe began, motioning with one hand. "You're technically part of the Crownsguard I guess, so you know we work in shifts."  
  
"Yeah, what about it?"  
  
"Well, I had first shift at the training room yesterday."  
  
"It wasn't first shift. Pretty sure it was the end of second."  
  
"You're 'pretty sure'?"  
  
"I wanted to know who was on duty when the Prince showed up, that's all."  
  
"That would've been Nyx, I think," Aquila spoke up. "I remember him whining about it, how His Royal Clumsiness almost ran into a wall because he was half asleep."  
  
Gladio held back a snort.  
  
"That's weird," Crowe replied. "Nyx isn't who relieved me."  
  
"Who was it?" Gladio asked.  
  
"Nao. It was definitely Nao."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Naomi Fidelius. You met her the other day, remember?"  
  
"Yeah, when we kicked your ass?" Aquila cut in, laughing.  
  
"I was going easy on you guys."  
  
"Calling bullshit on that one."  
  
"You can have a rematch anytime."  
  
"I'll hold you to it."  
  
"Anyway," Crowe interrupted, "Nao was definitely the one who took second shift yesterday."  
  
"Oh right, I remember now," Aquila said. "Nyx took third shift. Nao was supposed to have third."  
  
"What's with all of you and that training room?" Gladio asked, crossing his arms.  
  
"Weird scheduling day," Crowe shrugged.  
  
"Alright, so Naomi is the one who was there."  
  
"Thought this was about the Prince? Nyx was the one who saw him."  
  
"Well, okay... when _I_  got there, Naomi is the one I probably saw."  
  
"Unless you got there just after the shift change."  
  
"How's he gonna get Naomi and Nyx confused?" Aquila asked.  
  
"You remember every face you see?" Crowe asked in reply.  
  
"Wrong person to be asking."  
  
"True."  
  
He blinked, thinking for a moment. Exactly what time _did_  he get there?

He took out his phone and searched through his call history, finding his call entry to Iggy yesterday and checking the timestamp, then let out a groan. It had started before the shift change and lasted right into third shift, because of course it did, because Noct was late _again_. And he was very likely late himself because he'd been distracted by the phone call.  
  
He pocketed his phone and pinched between his eyes again.  
  
"Okay, so enough about that," he sighed. "I had a couple more questions."  
  
Aquila groaned dramatically and hung her head.  
  
"Come on, dude," she whined.  
  
"Okay," he relented, "just one, then." He pulled his hand away from his face. "You guys were hanging out with someone last night, right?"  
  
Both of them raised opposing eyebrows at the exact same time.  
  
"You stalking us?" Aquila asked.  
  
"Tall _and_  creepy," Crowe remarked.  
  
"Sounds like someone I know."  
  
"HA!"  
  
"It's nothing like that," he retorted, letting out an exasperated sigh as his blood pressure rose briefly. "I was with Noct all last night."  
  
"Ohohoho!" Aquila laughed (?), pulling her arm away from Crowe's shoulder and leaning toward him, fixing him with a knowing gaze. "This is about soulmate dreams, isn't it?"  
  
How the hell did she-- okay, it didn't matter. He was probably just too obvious about it. Or maybe his soulmate just told her, either one.  
  
"Yeah, you caught me," he resigned, leaning against the closed door.  
  
"Ha! I knew it!" She slapped her own leg and then pointed at him again, but with two fingers this time. "You've been trying to use us to figure out who it is, you sneaky bastard."  
  
She hopped down from the table and straightened out her jacket.  
  
"Do you know who it is?" he asked, testing his luck.  
  
"Ha, you're funny, I like you." She shot finger guns at him and _winked_. "I can tell you who it's not, and it's definitely not one of us."  
  
"I knew that already."  
  
"Tall, pretty, _and_  smart. Oh, I _really_  like you."  
  
Crowe laughed.  
  
"You done making fun of me?" he sneered.  
  
"Nope, but I'll stop anyway." She did a small twirl. "Look, you seem like a nice enough guy, so I'll give you a bit of advice: just go ask out whoever you think is cute. You wanna go after Nyx or Naomi because you think one of them is your soulmate or whatever, I'd go with whichever one is more your type."  
  
She walked past him, toward the door, and paused, looking up at him without that gleam of mischievousness she had a split second prior. Much like during their sparring match the other day.  
  
"And," she continued, leaning up toward him, "if you want my honest opinion, worrying about these soulmate dreams is just a waste of time that could be spent having fun with someone you like." She shrugged. "Live a little, Shield Man."  
  
She gave his shoulder a light tap with a closed fist, then gave him a small wave with a smirk. She and Crowe left the room, and he was alone again.  
  
And he felt like he'd learned absolutely nothing, except not to go looking for either of those two again if he didn't want to lose any more years off of his life.  
  
But she might have a point, and Naomi was _definitely_  cute.  
  
He smiled to himself and left the room, heading back to the elevator and back toward the throne room entrance.

* * *

Back near the throne room again, Gladio spotted Naomi just as he stepped off the elevator, and she just happened to be speaking with another Glaive. Her hair wasn't pulled back anymore, and it flowed down around her shoulders and framed her face really nicely and, wow, he needed to focus.  
  
He leaned against the wall by the elevator doors, running over his pickup lines in his head. Would he just be direct with it? Try to strike up a conversation first? Maybe offer to walk her to her car? What if she doesn't have a car? He could give her a ride, that could work, but he'd have do it in the least creepy way possible because, after seeing her hurl that hammer at his face, he was pretty sure she could break him in half.  
  
Well, maybe not, but she was definitely stronger than she looked if she could throw a hammer the same size as herself that far with one arm. Better to be safe in one piece than stupid in two pieces.  
  
So lost he was in his thoughts, he almost jumped out of his tattoos when she suddenly appeared in front of him. She stared at him, then looked at the wall behind him, then at the elevator, then at him again.  
  
"Excuse me..." she said, quietly, her hand raised at about waist level.  
  
What the hell is she-- _OH_.  
  
"Sorry," he chuffed, stepping out of the way of the elevator button. "Where you headed?"  
  
"Home," she replied simply as she pressed the down arrow, her face lowered just enough that he couldn't see it through her hair.  
  
"You, uh, want some company?" he asked, flashing his most friendly smile... at least he hoped that's what it looked like.  
  
And she didn't even look.  
  
"I'm fine," she replied.  
  
"You sure? Long walk to the garage."  
  
"It's okay, really, I don't want to pull you away from your duties or anything."  
  
"Not pulling me away from anything. I just... want to."  
  
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. She looked up at him then--heyyy pretty eyes-- and a blush came over her cheeks.  
  
"If you're sure?" she said, averting her eyes away.  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"Okay." A pause. "I'd... like that."  
  
"Cool."  
  
The doors started to close and he caught them on reflex, and he met her eyes again to see her staring wide-eyed at him, like he'd spooked her. Or she didn't expect him to get so close; to be fair, he didn't either.  
  
"After you," he smiled, motioning into the elevator, moving to give her room to enter.  
  
She nodded and stepped in, and he followed. She pressed a button for the basement garage and stepped back as the doors closed. Her hand swept one side of her hair over her ear, though it was kinked a little bit; he could still see the small wave from where she had it pulled out of her face while she was on duty.  
  
"So," he began, as the elevator started moving. "Little early to be heading home."  
  
"I have the afternoon off today, but training later tonight."  
  
"Tonight?"  
  
"Night training."  
  
"Ah. You guys do those a lot?"  
  
"A few times a week, yes."  
  
The elevator started slowing down.  
  
"Gonna take a nap?"  
  
"No, I..." She looked up toward the floor numbers. "I don't want to be groggy for training."  
  
"Gotcha. Just gonna relax then?"  
  
"Yeah. Maybe read a book."  
  
She _READS_.  
  
"Really? I'm pretty into reading myself." Weird phrasing, maybe she won't notice. "If you're free this afternoon, maybe we could go to that bookstore with the cafe in it? You know, the one in the mall?"  
  
"Oh, uh... that's a little out of the way..."  
  
"I don't mind driving."  
  
"But I don't--"  
  
"--want to put me out, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"I wouldn't ask you if I didn't want to."  
  
A pause, with a long silence, before the elevator dinged and the door opened.  
  
"Well, I also have someone giving me a ride back home, so I don't want to inconvenience her."  
  
"I'm sure she'll be fine with it."  
  
"Well... you remember Aquila?"  
  
"Remember? I ran into her about fifteen minutes ago."  
  
"Really? ...oh."  
  
"What?"  
  
She stayed silent for a moment, reaching up to pinch at the bridge of her nose--which was really cute--and exited the elevator, and he followed her out. She paused just outside the doors, and he blinked at the sudden drop in light. She turned to face him, looking a bit exasperated.  
  
"You're trying to ask me out, aren't you?" she asked, sounding sheepish.  
  
"You could say that," he replied.  
  
"Then the bookstore sounds nice."  
  
"Cool."  
  
He motioned toward where he'd parked his car that morning.  
  
"Car's this way, let's go."

* * *

So here Gladio was, sitting across from a rather cute member of the Kingsglaive on the advice of someone who really shouldn't be giving out advice.  
  
He nursed a cup of coffee, while she had a cup of some kind of herbal tea; he didn't recognize the name of it when she ordered it. He'd tried to spark up some kind of small talk, but only got short answers that didn't go anywhere, so it was time for another strategy.  
  
"I have to admit," he said, chuckling to try to relax himself. "I didn't really peg a Kingsglaive as an avid reader."  
  
"Reading calms me," she replied simply, taking a tentative sip of her tea.  
  
"You seem pretty calm already," he said, feeling himself grin a little.  
  
"I don't doubt that." She sat the cup down onto the table with a small _clink_. "But..." She sighed.  
  
"But what?"  
  
"Have you ever dealt with someone with no self-preservation?"  
  
He blinked. The only one he could think of was Noct.  
  
"Sorta." He sipped at his coffee. "Though usually I just send him on his way with his adviser and call it a day."  
  
"This person is like... whenever we get back from a mission I feel like I just want to collapse and sleep. Like trying to babysit someone who's not only an adult, but is nobility of all things."  
  
Well that got her talking.  
  
"You sound like Iggy," he laughed, putting down his cup.  
  
"Iggy... You mean the Prince's adviser, Ignis?"  
  
"Yeah. Shouldn't really talk about it much in public, but..."  
  
"No one's really around." She smirked a little.  
  
"Good point." He laughed again. "Whenever Iggy and me meet for coffee like this, he goes on at least one overly-polite tirade about one of Noct's latest mishaps."  
  
"I'd like to hear about those sometime."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah. Don't worry, I'll keep it between us."  
  
She smiled. And holy shit, was it a pretty smile.  
  
"Maybe we can meet somewhere private and talk about it."  
  
And then she blushed, and it was _adorable_.  
  
"S-Sure," she replied, lowering her head a bit. "Speaking of, you mentioned you ran into Aquila earlier."  
  
"Don't remind me." He pinched the bridge of his nose again.  
  
"Oh no, what did she do?" She covered her eyes, already looking exasperated.  
  
"Caught her making out with Crowe in one of the spare offices near her library post."  
  
"Again?" she groaned, sliding her hand down her face to look at him.  
  
"'Again'? This has happened before?"  
  
"I said she has no self-preservation."  
  
"Yeah, yeah you did."  
  
"Crowe has more, but not much more. It's almost like a game they're playing, and I love them to death but..."  
  
"They drive you crazy?"  
  
"_Yes._"  
  
He chuckled, leaning his elbow on the table.  
  
"Well, for the record, the three of you make an amazing team. I don't say that lightly, either. I've fought a lot of Glaives, and I train with Noct several times a week, with his full powers, and I've never had someone come that close to killing me that fast."  
  
She blushed and covered her eyes again.  
  
"Sorry about that..." she murmured.  
  
"Why are you sorry?" he asked.  
  
"She just moves so damn fast, I almost didn't catch her arm in time."  
  
"Whoa, whoa, I wasn't complaining."  
  
She lowered her hands.  
  
"So we didn't mess up?" she asked, looking genuinely worried.  
  
"Nope, you guys did better than any other group I've faced. Can't afford hesitation in a real fight, right?"  
  
"Right." She nodded. "I still struggle with that sometimes. I can't just jump into a fight, I have to know what I'm up against and how I can get the advantage. Bad things happen if I rush in." She lowered her face, as if staring into her cup.  
  
"If all three of you were that reckless, you wouldn't live long."  
  
"I know. They both say I need to take more initiative, but I'd rather just let them handle that. It gives me time to figure things out."  
  
"Your strategy is fine," he said, leaning back in his chair. "That's my honest opinion."  
  
"Thank you. It... means a lot."  
  
Her phone beeped twice and she unlocked it and froze, staring at it with wide eyes.  
  
"Something wrong?"  
  
"No, not really," she said, rushed.  
  
She stood and finished off her tea in one go, setting the empty cup down on the table.  
  
"There's an emergency muster for the Kingsglaive," she said as she put her uniform jacket back on.  
  
"I can take you over there now, it's fine," he offered.  
  
"Well, the thing is..." She looked over her shoulder toward the door, and then sighed. "My ride's here."  
  
Gladio followed her gaze over toward the bookstore's entrance and there stood Aquila, very obviously pretending to peruse the bookshelves.  
  
"How long as she been here...?" he asked, standing as well.  
  
"Who knows?" Naomi shrugged, letting out another exasperated sigh. "I really need to go, though, so..."  
  
She started digging around in her pockets before pulling out a few paper bills, holding them out to him.  
  
"Here, for the tea," she said, staring up at him with an air of formality.  
  
"Keep it," he replied, holding up one hand. "My treat, so long as I get to see you again."  
  
Her cheeks turned crimson and she looked away, stuffing the money back in her jacket pocket.  
  
"I'd like that," she replied quietly, fixing her bangs over her forehead. "So, I'll see you around?"  
  
"Yeah. See ya."  
  
She nodded and walked away, almost like she was trying to escape, and Gladio watched as she walked right up to Aquila, who pretended to be surprised to see her, and then they left.  
  
He turned his attention back to his coffee cup and chuckled to himself, pulling out his phone. He navigated to his texting app and opened a new thread. He started to type in her name, then stopped.  
  
He forgot to get her number.

* * *

What a morning.  
  
Gladio rushed to the Citadel as fast as was (mostly) safe, and now ran through the underground garage toward the loading area where they deployed the Kingsglaive. It was still dark out when he left, and the lights up ahead of vans and Humvees told him he wasn't too late.  
  
The dreams last night, they showed his impromptu date with Naomi, from _her_  perspective. It was all the dream was about, and he knew he didn't look THAT good, and that meant absolutely one thing: he'd found his soulmate and didn't even realize it, because he was thinking too hard about it, and not paying attention to the small details. It was so obvious looking back on it, seeing how inseperable she was with the two other girls, that considering anyone else was really stupid of him.  
  
Should've consulted Iggy more on that. Probably.  
  
But that's not the whole reason he was in a dead sprint to intercept a Kingsglaive deployment: he'd gotten a text in the middle of the night, one that read:  
  
_ >Hey you might wanna know that our unit is being deployed to the Lucian frontier before dawn tomorrow and if Nao dies out there I'm not responsible for your dumb ass not realizing she's been dreaming about you her entire goddamn life_  
_ >~A_  
  
So here he was, running like an idiot, dodging Captain Drautos and weaving his way through the gathered group of Glaives. Some of them protested as he brushed past, others gave him odd looks, but he didn't give a shit.  
  
Looking ahead, his eyes locked onto Naomi, standing with her four friends, and as soon as she caught sight of him, her eyes lit up. She immediately looked over to Aquila and grabbed her jacket, and he caught her words as he slowed to a stop nearby.  
  
"What did you _do_?" Naomi hissed at Aquila, who just shrugged.  
  
"Took initiative," came the simple and cheeky reply.  
  
Naomi let out that same exasperated sigh, and Aquila slapped her back and walked away, waving to the others, who followed her a short distance away. Naomi rubbed her arm, looked back at her friends, then looked toward Gladio, and visibly steeled herself as she approached him.  
  
"Hey," he said as she reached him, surprised at how breathless he sounded.  
  
"So... you know now, I'm guessing," she stated sheepishly, rubbing her arm again.  
  
"About the soulmate thing?"  
  
She nodded, and Astrals be damned, looked almost like she was going to cry.  
  
"When I found out," she said, her voice cracking, "I didn't know what to do, didn't think you'd actually want to talk to me because I'm not really that interesting, and I know nobility doesn't care about soulmates, so..."  
  
That did it; he couldn't resist anymore, and he moved forward and took her head in his heands and pressed his lips against hers. She made a soft noise of surprise in her throat and froze for a moment in his hands, so he ran one hand back through her hair, gently, trying to be reassuring. It seemed to work and she relaxed, leaning into the kiss and hanging on by her arms around the back of his neck.  
  
He pulled back an inch and opened his eyes, watching as her clear blue eyes fluttered open, moist with the threat of tears.  
  
"Listen," he said, keeping his voice low, since he could see the others watching them. "I've been watching your memories for as long as I can remember, and you have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known. You care so much about your loved ones, and hearing you talk about them yesterday..."  
  
Just say it. Come on.  
  
"Gladiolus..."  
  
"Gladio's fine."  
  
"Gladio, I'm a soldier and the fact is that I might not come back. I don't want to put you through that."  
  
"I'm Shield to the Crown Prince, later to be Shield of the King. That's a risk I take, too."  
  
She grew quiet a moment and blinked; he caught the tear that tried to escape down her cheek with his thumb.  
  
"Naomi," he breathed, leaning his forehead against hers. "I fell in love with you a long time ago, just through your memories, how happy and full of life they were surrounding your friends. And then yesterday..."  
  
Come on, you coward.  
  
"I fell in love with you all over again," he finished breathlessly, so quiet he wasn't even sure he actually said it, so he tried again. "I love you, Naomi, okay?"  
  
He felled a tug on his fingers and released her face, and she took a single step back, staring up into his eyes, a much more subtle blush spreading across her cheeks. She opened her mouth as if to reply, but then didn't say anything, instead covering her mouth with one hand. And then the tears finally fell, running down her face in shimmering streams, right onto her hand.  
  
"Hey, I'm sorry, I, I didn't mean to..." he stammered, closing the distance again and trying to clear her face of the tears with his hands. "Is that not what you wanted to hear?"  
  
She shook her head and brought her hand to her chest, using her other hand to wipe at her eyes.  
  
"It's nothing like that," she said, looking up at him once her eyes were clear. "I haven't heard someone say that to me in so long, I got overwhelmed--" Her voice cut off with a sob, and another tear fell. "I didn't think I'd ever hear it again."  
  
The memories of a dream, of her memories, entered his mind, the one that scarred him several years ago, and he put the pieces together, the reason she hadn't heard 'I love you' in a long time.  
  
Galahd.  
  
He reached his arms around her and pulled her in close, shushing her as she let out another small sob and latched onto his jacket. He stroked his hand through her hair and leaned his head against hers.  
  
"You need someone to care for you, too, you know," he whispered, not quite sure why he said it; it just sounded right.  
  
She snuggled into his chest more, and he dared a look at her friends, expecting hushed whispering and perhaps giggling, but he didn't get that at all.  
  
Nyx was smiling, with his arms crossed, giving a type of brotherly approval he himself would give Iris.  
  
Libertus was wiping his eyes, as if _he_  was crying too.  
  
Crowe was smiling, and gave him a thumbs up, and, beside her, Aquila smirked and winked at him, with absolutely no mischievousness.  
  
"Glaives, we're moving out!" Drautos bellowed from far behind him.  
  
Naomi immediately pulled away, but not enough that his hands couldn't linger against her arms. She'd completely composed herself, with very little redness around her eyes, and he smiled. Damn, she was good.  
  
"See you when you get back?" he asked, and her eyes lit up again.  
  
"Yeah, see you then."  
  
"That a promise?"  
  
She leaned up and kissed his cheek so very softly and then stepped back, out of his reach. She then smiled, so bright that it lit up her eyes and fucking _stunned_  him. He couldn't breathe for a few moments, not knowing if this was just him being an idiot in love or if she was just that damn pretty.  
  
Probably both.  
  
"Yeah, it's a promise," she replied finally.  
  
Then she turned, and he watched as Naomi, his soulmate, regrouped with her friends, and hopped into the back of one of the vans. It drove away, and he caught her gaze through the tinted window and gave a small wave, and she waved back.  
  
Yeah. They'd see each other again.

**Author's Note:**

> I edited this on my phone so let me know if I missed any of my formatting marks if you want


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